Second letter sent: Bid to remove Magnetto continues

TROY >> An attorney representing Chief John Tedesco has sent a second letter to city officials in a bid to remove Police Commissioner Anthony Magnetto.

Attorney Brian Premo, writing on behalf of Tedesco, has made further claims that Mayor Lou Rosamilia’s move to appoint a police commissioner was done with not only the support of Democratic majority on the City Council — who approved funding for the new position — but also the support of the city police union president and county Democratic chair.

Premo has yet to bring litigation against the city, in the hopes that city officials will capitulate and remove the police commissioner. If he does bring a lawsuit, the case will likely rest on a claim that Mayor Lou Rosamilia appointed current Police Commissioner Anthony Magnetto to a position that — by city charter — could only be filled by a Public Safety Commissioner, a position that is presently not funded.

The letter — sent to the city mayor, corporation counsel, and council members on Friday — also aims to refute a claim made by city corporation counsel Ian Silverman, who asserted that the city has previously had a police commissioner without a public safety commissioner, and therefore set a precedent. While a previous mayor appointed a police commissioner, that was also an illegal act, contends Premo, and that simply because another mayor acted illegally, that is no reason for the current mayor to continue to do so.